Dog Days of Summer.....

     Roxie has been learning several new tricks this summer. One is fairly basic, how to walk on a leash and not constantly pull.  We have been putting her on a Gentle Leader and she is  a delight!  Good dog, Roxie!

      This is one of the fans on the corner of a crazy quilted table runner that I have been working on. At the rate I'm going, it will be years before I'm finished!

    Here is my Fabulous First Timers block back home after its travels.  All I did was make the block.  All of the embellishments were done by Ruby in White Oak, NC, Linda in Tucumcari, NM, Judy in Seneca, NY, and Pam, Issquah, WA. Thank you ladies for all of your hard work and talent!  Now, What am I going to do with it.......

    My husband and I take care of my mother who suffers from  alzheimer's.  One of my brothers and his wife who live in Maryland traveled all the way to California this summer to take care of mom and the pets so that we could get away. Isn't that one of the nicest things you ever heard?
    My husband, daughter, and I took a road trip to Yellowstone.  Here are four of my favorite memories.

Visiting the falls.

This was taken right before the bison got irritated enough by the crow to chase it. We were all startled!

There were so many hot springs, mud pots, and geysers but this is one of the prettier ones........I don't recall its name.

We stayed late one night to capture images of the full moon. It was a beautiful, warm evening filled with night birds and bats.

     

Cats and Quilts

 These are crazy quilt blocks I  put together for two different round robins.   The set on top is for an Under The Sea round robin. I was thinking about ocean environments when I put them together and came up with deep sea- on top, lagoons, the two in the middle, and coral reef for the two on the bottom.

This set of crazy quilt blocks is for a Basically Beaded round robin. I can't wait to see how they turn out!

Last week I attended my first sane quilting class ever.  We were all working on Buggy Barn quilts and mine was crazy cats!

This is Pippin. If he doesn't look happy, it is because he's not.  He doesn't groom himself and he won't let us do it either.  So, poor kitty, this summer he got shaved to remove his matted fur!!!

 Rosie is my sweet, spooky Halloween cat.

Four cats on my bed!!! My excuse to NOT make my bed in the morning. I wouldn't want to upset anyone!!!  LOL! Note that Pippin has his fur in this picture.

  My garden is rewarding me for being patient- winter was extra lonnnng this year and spring was almost non-existent.

       Delphiniums are one of my mother's favorites.

Making Blackberries

I have been putting raspberries and blackberries in a lot of my embroidery lately and a friend asked me to show her how I did it.  It is really simple. Click on the images to see them close-up.

First, use fabric markers in berry colors to shade in the area you want to bead.  I made mine about the size of a US nickel.

Next, fill the spot of color in with beads. For blackberries I like to do a few in red for realism.

Make a running stitch around the outside of your berry.

Cut out your berry. Be careful to avoid your running stitch.

Gently pull the thread of your running stitch. The edges of your berry will turn under and the berry's shape will become rounded.

Finally, sew your berry onto your embroidery and embellish.